Former Komen VP: Group Will Eventually Again Cut Planned Parenthood Ties

Karen Handel, former vice president of Susan G. Komen, speaks at the Family Research Council event "The Planned Parenthood Shakedown of Komen for the Cure" in Washington, DC on Thursday, December 13, 2012.

WASHINGTON – The former vice president for public affairs at the Susan G. Komen for the Cure believes that the organization will eventually cut its ties to Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Karen Handel, the former Komen executive who resigned in protest after the group reversed its decision to cut ties to the nationwide abortion provider, told The Christian Post about the likelihood of this occurring again at a Family Research Council event on Thursday.

"I believe that Komen will be at this crossroads again for the following reason: making or doing the best it can do with donor dollars," said Handel. "Being the best stewards of donor dollars is ultimately going to require that Komen shift those dollars because these are not impactful grants. Ultimately, donors are going to demand that."

Handel also told CP that she felt "the scrutiny into Planned Parenthood" would also play a role in the breast cancer awareness organization ending its financial connections to Planned Parenthood.

"Where there is this much smoke there's a raging fire, let's be honest. And so ultimately that will come to the forefront and Komen will be at that place again," said Handel.

Handel's remarks came while she was one of the speakers at an FRC event titled "The Planned Parenthood Shakedown of Komen for the Cure." The event involved Handel describing what took place behind the doors of Komen when they opted to cut ties with Planned Parenthood. According to Handel, Komen was bullied by PPFA and others affiliated with them to reverse its decision.

Cathy Ruse, senior fellow for legal studies at the Family Research Council, who formerly worked as a spokeswoman at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, gave the introduction.

"I remember well the telephone calls I would get about Komen…from people who wanted to make a donation to the Komen Foundation but were very concerned about their alliances," said Ruse. "Susan G. Komen Foundation gives money to Planned Parenthood and if you don't want your dollars going to America's largest abortion provider don't give them to Komen."

In addition to Ruse and Handel, Jeanne Monahan, former director of the Center for Human Dignity at FRC and now president of March for Life, spoke about the operations of Planned Parenthood before the three took questions from the audience.

Earlier this year, Komen announced that it would cut its annual $700,000 funding to Planned Parenthood. The organization received a major backlash, as supporters of PPFA threatened to pull their support if the defunding took place. About 72 hours later, Komen announced that it would reverse the decision; Handel resigned in protest.

When asked by CP if there could be an official cooperation between Komen and PPFA without there being support for abortion, Handel replied that this was unlikely because "Planned Parenthood is about abortion."

"For Komen…their mission goes forth without Planned Parenthood. They are not an integral component of the fight against breast cancer," said Handel.

The FRC event comes several months after Handel's book, titled Planned Bullyhood, about the events surrounding Komen's short-lived decision to cut funding to PPFA was released.